New PPRA rules retain direct SOE contracting

Express Tribune reported that Pakistan notified new public procurement rules on Monday, a step aimed at greater transparency and at meeting a condition set by the International Monetary Fund. The government annulled the 2004 framework through the PPRA Rules 2026, which took effect immediately after publication in the Gazette, two days before the IMF deadline expired. It coincided with the fourth IMF programme review.

Despite the lender's insistence, the rules keep a preference for government-owned entities to receive contracts without competitive bidding. The Fund had wanted that privilege removed except for narrow, reasonable carve-outs, yet the new Rule 32-F on direct contracting departs from its proposal. Under it, a procuring agency may award direct contracts for spare parts or add-on services sourced from the original maker, for protected exclusive rights, for technical incompatibility, and for repeat orders capped at fifteen per cent of the initial value.

Sources said the IMF had proposed a stricter approach, under which state-owned bodies would receive direct work only if it was time-sensitive, scattered, remotely located or in the public interest. The Fund also suggested a 40% cap on subcontracting and competition among eligible bodies, and according to the same sources, those points remain unmet. PPRA Managing Director Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi said the rules set out a modern framework to lift transparency, competition, accountability and value for money.